Chapter 9 Forever Young"

(Opening shot: the city skyline under a bright sun and clear blue sky.)

Narrator: The city of Townsville, on a sunny Sunday afternoon.

(Dissolve to a man asleep in a hammock.)

Narrator: The perfect day to put your feet up,

(Dissolve to a man and woman set up for a picnic. She is feeding him grapes.)

Narrator: have a picnic,

(Dissolve to a long shot of a car motoring along a road that parallels the beach.)

Narrator: take a drive up the coast,

(Dissolve to the beach and pan slowly along it. People are sunbathing and playing.)

Narrator: or just kick back, relax, and let all your troubles wash away with the tide.

(The camera continues its pan.)

Narrator: Everyone is taking it easy. Everyone except for...

(A tentacle snaps into view, holding a screaming Bubbles. Pull back quickly to show the owner of the tentacle: a large, brownish-green sea creature with a single red eye.)

Narrator: ...the Powerpuff Girls!

(Buttercup and Blossom fly in. Buttercup breaks the tentacle holding Bubbles, and both charge in to attack. Blossom smashes through the creature's midsection while Buttercup breaks its teeth and Bubbles hits it in the eye. Next Blossom knocks off one of its fins, and all three close in to deliver the finishing blow. The creature is knocked senseless into the air; when it hits the water, the splash covers the screen.)

(The water drains away to show a frightened man being held at knifepoint. He holds up a watch; the camera turns around to show the perpetrator - it is the Gangrene Gang, with Ace holding the knife and the watch. They laugh over their deed; then the camera pulls back at ground level. Now we see Blossom's lower half from behind. She and the other girls make short work of the Gang and knock them flying.)

(As the five sail o.c., the scene wipes to a railroad bridge. A train barrels along with it at full speed. Close-up of the engineer, whose expression suddenly changes from calm to panic. Ahead of him, the rails have snapped. The girls fly-in, pulling ahead of the train, and place themselves in the gap to pull the rails straight. Bubbles gets into position just as the train thunders over them.)

(As the end of the train passes into view, the scene wipes to a window washer doing his job on a scaffold high above the street. The ropes fray and break, and he plummets toward the ground; the girls dash in to save him. Blossom catches his abdomen, Buttercup catches his feet, and Bubbles catches his hard hat, which she places back on his head and they lower him.)

(Cut to a fiery meteor soaring through the sky. The girls fire their eye lasers at it, reducing it to pebble size by the time it reaches the ground in the streets of Townsville. In the forest, a large grizzly bear rears up over a man and roars; the girls arrive, and Buttercup roars right back, even more loudly. The bear turns and runs, yelping, and the man and her sisters applaud her performance.)

(Back in the city, an armed robber with a sack of cash runs along the sidewalk as an alarm rings. He passes Bubbles, who trips him and sends the loot flying, and lands at the feet of Blossom and Buttercup. The former catches the money, and the latter thumps him under the chin before he hits the ground.)

(A hot-air balloon floats through the sky. It bursts; the girls turn around, alarmed. The balloon's basket falls, its occupant holding a teapot and cup and not seeming particularly distressed. Blossom dives in and catches the rig, and the remains of the balloon settle over the man as Bubbles and Buttercup watch.)

(Inside a bank, Buttercup throws herself on a bomb, which promptly explodes. In the street, the Talking Dog sits in the path of a speeding car; Bubbles pulls him to safety. Blossom saves a baby from a burning building and passes it to a fireman. The screen is briefly engulfed in flames.)

(When the fire dies down, we see the girls floating in midair and looking exhausted. Blossom's hair bow no longer stands up but seems to sag under its own weight. After a moment, they open their eyes in surprise; pull back quickly to show the city below them in utter peril. Most of it is on fire, a monster roars in the background, and an airplane crashes behind them. They sigh wearily.)

(Dissolve to the exterior of their house; They return home after a very tough mission fighting a powerful monster. Tired and aching from the fight to save Townsville the Powerpuff Girls go straight to their room and fall on their bed exhausted. After several minutes Blossom sits up and looks at her sisters.

Blossom said "Well that was a tough mission."

Buttercup said "Like that needed to be said."

Bubbles said "I'm too tired to move."

Blossom said "Well don't get too rested. We need to go over strategy."

Buttercup said "What?! Give it a rest Blossom."

Blossom said "Look, that last fight took so long because we were not coordinating our actions. We need to go over my strategies so we can do better next time."

Bubbles said "Aww, I'm too tired to think about fighting." She rolls over and hugs Octi closer.

Blossom said "We have to do this, now come on."

Buttercup sits up and then jumps off the bed.

Blossom said "Now that's more like it." But Buttercup goes over to the toy chest in the corner and opens it.

Blossom said "What are you doing Buttercup?"

After rummaging around in the chest for a few moments she pulls out a box with her war toys. Emptying it out on the floor she sits down and starts to organize her toy soldiers and tanks.

Blossom said "Buttercup, did you hear me?"

Buttercup said "Sorry, Buttercup the Powerpuff Girl is not listening. It's Buttercup the kid who's here."

Buttercup starts lining up her tanks and playing "soldier". Blossom floats over to her with her hands on her hips and a scowl on her face.

Blossom - said "Listen Buttercup, we have to go over my strategies."

Buttercup said "Nope, I'm not listening to your strategies. I'm being a kid right now and I'm going to play."

Bubbles said "I want to play too."

She jumps out of bed and gathers up her plushies. Bubbles builds a fort with blocks and places her plushies behind them.

Bubbles said "I bet your army can't take my castle, Buttercup."

Buttercup said "You're on."

She aims her tanks and moves her soldiers towards Bubbles' "castle" and plushies.

Bubbles said "General Octi and his army will hold the castle against all invaders."

Buttercup said "Vroom vroom, my tank squadron moves into position. My men dig into foxholes."

Bubbles said "Fire the catapults!" She throws beanbags at Buttercup's advancing army.

Blossom yelled "WILL YOU TWO STOP IT!"

Buttercup and Bubbles stop to look at an angry Blossom.

Blossom said "We have to get serious here. Our performance as super heroes will have to improve because the safety of Townsville is at stake. We cannot let our guard down for one minute and we have a responsibility to stay vigilant."

Buttercup stands up and floats over to Blossom. She floats right up to her face. Expecting a confrontation Blossom steels herself, but instead sees a docile look on Buttercup's face.

Buttercup said "Every day we face evil and monsters. We put our lives on the line so Townsville can stay safe. We are always called to action and never fail anyone. For once Blossom let's be little girls again. Forget strategies and responsibilities, forget we are super heroes and enjoy what little time we have as kids."

Blossom is puzzled as to what to say to her sister.

Buttercup said "I haven't seen you smile in a long time or even hear you laugh. You let this job as a super hero take away your childhood."

Blossom looks over at Bubbles.

Bubbles said "Please Blossom, smile for us."

With a sad look on her face Blossom sits down on the floor between them.

Blossom said "I've forgotten how to smile."

Buttercup said "No one forgets how."

Bubbles takes a piece of paper from her nearby schoolbag.

Bubbles said look "I did this in school yesterday. I was going to wait until later to show it to you."

Bubbles hands her a crayon drawing. It's of Blossom's face with a big sunny smile.

Bubbles said "I wanted to keep your smile forever before you lost it for good."

Blossom is at first silent, then a grin breaks on her face. Her shoulders shudder and then she gasps as she tries to catch her breath. Finally she rolls onto her back laughing.

Blossom laugh "Bwa ha ha ha ha, this is such a silly drawing!"

Buttercup Laught "Ha ha ha ha ha ha!"

Bubbles laugh "Hee hee hee hee hee!"

Buttercup and Bubbles fall on Blossom hugging her as they share the laughter. For several minutes they roll around on the floor giggling and tickling each other. Finally they fall apart and lay there staring at the ceiling trying to catch their breaths.

Blossom said "Whew, thank you for reminding me I'm still a kid."

Buttercup said "Life is not all booty kicking and head butting."

Bubbles said "I hope we never grow up."

Blossom said "That's a lot to wish for Bubbles. But we can make our childhood last as long as possible."

Buttercup said "No one can take it away from us."

Blossom reaches over and puts her hand on Bubbles' hand while Buttercup does the same.

Blossom said "Always sisters?"

Buttercup said "Always."

Bubbles said "Always."

Blossom said "Let me get my toy cars and we can build a city for your castle and tanks."

Bubbles said "Yay."

Buttercup said "What about planning your strategies?"

Blossom said sorry "Blossom the Powerpuff Girl is not listening. Blossom the kid is here."

Buttercup said "That's more like it."

The standard end shot comes up.)

Narrator: And so, once again, the day is saved, thanks to the Powerpuff Girls! Enjoin Childhood why you can Girls